Habenaria parva (Summerh.) Summerh. 1938 SECTION Macroceratitis Kraenzl

Drawing by © Lely and The Royal Botanical Garden Kew Website

LATER EARLY

Common Name The Small Habenaria

Flower Size

Found in Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic in savannahs and grasslands at elevations around 1300 meters as a mini-miniature to miniature sized, cool growing terrestrial with ovoid to narrowly cylindrical tubers giving rise to an erect, very delicate, minutely glandular stem carrying 4 to 6, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, acute held at the stem base, sessil cauline leaves and a single, held towards the middle of the stem, adpressed to the stem, ovate-lanceolate, acute, minutely glandular cauline sheath that blooms in the later spring and early summer on an erect, terminal, to 1.6" [4 cm] long, 1 to 2 flowered inflorescence with oblong-ovate to lanceolate, acute, herbaceous floral bracts and carrying small flowers with the sepals being green and the lip and the petals are white.

"Differs from others in the study area by having 1 to occasionally 2 flowered inflorescence with the mid lobe of the lip distinctly wider than the lateral lobes."

Synonyms *Cynorkis parva Summerh. 1932; Plantaginorchis parva (Summerh.) Szlach. 2004

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1932: 338 Summerhayes 1932 as Cynosorchis parva

*Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1938: 148 Summerhayes 1938

Orchids of the Central African Republic A Provisional Checklist Cribb & Fay 1986;

Richardiana 4: 65 Szlach. 2004 as Plantaginorchis parva

Orchidaceae of West Central Africa Vol 1: 164 Szatcheko etal 2010 as Plantaginorchis parva

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